The director of Italian studies at Bard College, Professor Joseph Luzzi, leads a comprehensive overview of Italian culture. Beginning in the fabled realm of Renaissance art and concluding with the sweeping transformations of present-day Italy, Professor Luzzi examines the Italian mystique and answers a number of intriguing questions: Is there a distinctly 'Italian' way of looking at the world? To whom do Italian Renaissance treasures truly belong? Could the United States as known today exist without the contributions of Italian culture?